Ethics: Alternatives & Issues

By Norman L. Geisler

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0310249309
• ISBN13: 9780310249306
• Release Date: October 1971
• Publisher: Zondervan Publishing Company
• Length: 270 Pages
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Difficult topics tackled in reasonable fashion

If every issue we dealt with in society had a black and white answer, things would be quite different. Unfortunately, they don't always, and that's where this book comes in. Sometimes areas are grey, and depend on personal conviction (Romans 14). Dr. Geisler uses reasonable inference to draw conclusions from the scripture on a variety of social questions. One of the best features of the book is that he presents a "pro" position, a "con" position, and then gives you his analysis and conclusion. A good book for every Christian's library.

Old but useful

Yes, it was written in 1971, and yes, it probably could use a revision (especially in regards to moral relativism), but I like this book. It has some good-thinking chapters in it. For instance, chapter 7 on Hierarchicalism is worth a close read. Geisler goes against the popular notion that all sin is the same. While sin is sin, no doubt, and all sin is rebellion against God's law, I agree with his position that five lustful thoughts are not greater in scope than an adulterous affair. Someone might say, "But Jesus equalled lust with adultery in the Bible." Did He? Jesus' point in the difficult-to-interpret Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:27-30) was not that lust and adultery are equal but rather that we need to be careful if we think we are perfect or even better than someone who has sinned "big." We have all sinned, Romans 3:23 tells us, and sin has consequences (Romans 6:23; Gal. 6:7-8). For those who use a passage like this to say all sin is equal, the question is what do you do with verses 29-30 if you are going to take this as a literal equalization of two kinds of sin.Geisler deals with tough ethical issues such as this as well as issues of war, sex, birth control and abortion, suicide, and ecology. (A new chapter on bio-ethical issues such as cloning is begging to be written.) While I do not always agree with every position Geisler has in this book--and I wonder how his views might have been changed on abortion since he wrote the book prior to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision--he makes solid cases for his views and therefore he msut be reckoned with.I am going to look for other Christian books on the issues Geisler deals with and see what others have to say. But if you can get this from a used book source, I would definitely recommend it.